CJ Thoroughbreds campaigns Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf hopeful Hang the Moon.
By Frank Angst
As Wade Phillips has spent a career coaching in the National Football League, including stints as head coach for three different teams and serving as defensive coordinator for the 2016 Super Bowl winning-Denver Broncos, he knows all about the anticipation ahead of a big sporting event.
As part of the partnership behind Hang the Moon , who enters the gate for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T) Nov. 2 at Del Mar off back-to-back grade 2 wins, Phillips is embracing those vibes.
"Having our horse Hang the Moon in the Breeders' Cup is like having a team in the Super Bowl," Phillips said.
Cheering on the 4-year-old Uncle Mo filly is a diverse ownership group that includes people with backgrounds in racing, yes, but also politics, racing media, and top professional sports. Veteran racetrack executive Corey Johnsen serves as the president of CJ Thoroughbreds and his son C.J. is vice president. Corey Johnsen is a former part owner of Kentucky Downs and currently serves as interim CEO of the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority.
The vice president of business development for CJ Thoroughbreds is retired NFL receiver Mike Renfro, who played 11 years in the league for the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Oilers. Renfro was drafted in 1978 by the Oilers, who were then coached by Bum Phillips—Wade Phillips' dad. Wade Phillips served as an assistant coach with the Oilers from 1976-80—which launched his NFL coaching career.
Johnsen, who as president and CEO of Lone Star Park helped bring the Breeders' Cup to the track in Grand Prairie, Texas, in 1994, met Renfro in the 1990s and they worked together on the opening of the track and landing the Breeders' Cup. Renfro brought Phillips in on the Hang the Moon partnership.
That partnership is not limited to NFL athletes and coaches though as former NHL goaltender Ben Bishop III, and his father Ben Bishop also are partners. One of the tallest goaltenders in NHL history at 6-foot, 7-inches, Ben III played 13 years in the league with stops at St. Louis, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Los Angeles and Dallas.
The group also includes Kentucky state senator Damon Thayer, the Senate Floor Majority Leader. As senator, the former Breeders' Cup executive has backed pro-industry legislation in the commonwealth, including historical horse racing, which has brought massive increases in purses for owners and put the tracks on better footing.
And rounding out the partnership is Mike Joyce, who serves as a host, analyst, and reporter on FanDuel TV.
Phillips has enjoyed the partnership and is looking forward to attending this year's Breeders' Cup.
"Being in company with these class of horses in the Breeders' Cup is pretty neat," Phillips said. "Hang the Moon has showed tremendous speed. When you coach football, powerful acceleration is paramount. That is what you see in this horse."
Phillips traces his love of racing to his father, who got interested in the sport while coaching the New Orleans Saints. He began to frequent Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.
"Dad owned a few racehorses," Phillips said. "The first one he owned won the first race out, so I guess I am a chip off the block."
While Hang the Moon will be making the first grade 1 start of her career when she faces an international field aligned for this year's 1 3/8-mile Filly & Mare Turf, she does enter with some momentum and a recent win on the course. On Sept. 7 Hang the Moon earned her first graded stakes win Sept. 7 at Del Mar when she rallied from seventh to score by a half-length in the John C. Mabee Stakes (G2T). She followed that effort with a clear victory in the Rodeo Drive Stakes (G2T) at Santa Anita Park.
Hang the Moon is trained by Phil D'Amato and Kazushi Kimura was aboard for both her recent grade 2 wins.
Bred in Kentucky by Repole Stable, the filly out of the winning Malibu Moon daughter Moondance was purchased by CJ Thoroughbreds for $200,000 at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, where she was consigned by Brookdale Sales.
CJ Thoroughbreds previously competed in the Breeders' Cup in 2021 when Sally's Curlin finished seventh in the Filly & Mare Sprint (G1). CJ Thoroughbreds owned Sally's Curlin in partnership with Left Turn Racing and Casner Racing.
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